CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals granted a stay that will lift a temporary injunction on the state's charter school law.
On Jan. 24, the petitioners — State Senate President Craig Blair, State House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw and Gov. Jim Justice — filed a motion for stay of Kanawha Circuit Court's order granting a preliminary injunction and on Feb. 2, the respondents — Sam Brunett and Robert McCloud — filed a response in opposition to the motion.
"Upon consideration, the Court is of the opinion to and does grant the motion to stay," the Feb. 23 order stated. "It is ordered that the Order Granting Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Denying Motion to Dismiss entered in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County...on January 20, 2022, is stayed pending resolution of this appeal."
Judge Alan Moats sat by temporary appointment in the matter since Evan Jenkins resigned earlier this month. The order was unanimous.
"The Supreme Court of Appeals was right to stay the Kanawha County Circuit Court’s preliminary injunction of the charter school bill while it considers the merits of the appeal," Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a statement. "The stay will give the charter schools that have already been approved the ability to prepare for the upcoming school year while the case is being briefed and argued. The stay also prevents West Virginians from being deprived of the option to send their children to charter schools while this litigation moves forward."
In December, Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey granted a temporary injunction of the charter school law. She also struck down a motion to dismiss the case that was filed by the West Virginia Attorney General's Office.
Last September, Brunett and McCloud, who are public school teachers and the leaders of West Virginia's American Federation of Teachers, filed a lawsuit arguing that residents should be allowed to vote for proposed charter schools and that the current law, which requires the Professional Charter School Board to approve charter schools, was unconstitutional.
There are currently five charter schools — three brick-and-mortar and two virtual — that want to open for the 2022-23 school year.
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals case number: 22-0070
